


You might want to reconsider

by angrygoomba, DeathandDespairQueen



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Child Death, Co-Written, FAHC, Fake AH Crew, Gang Violence, Human Trafficking, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Fic, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, The Vagabond, but they aren't actually related to anyone, listen i can't write happy things, mostly the core 6, plus ray, technically, there are kids in the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-08-29 21:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8505436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angrygoomba/pseuds/angrygoomba, https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathandDespairQueen/pseuds/DeathandDespairQueen
Summary: The kid froze. Surely he was joking. Geoff Lazer Ramsey, the most notorious crime lord in all of Los Santos, couldn't possibly be concerned with the well being of a useless homeless kid who had resorted to mugging him just to survive, could he? 
Geoff, oddly enough, had a soft spot for kids.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pointyteeths](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pointyteeths/gifts).



> OKAY
> 
> me and my homies had this idea for a while and then "Schooled" came out and we got to see the AH guys interact with kids and that did it and now it exists you're welcome.
> 
> I also would like thank both of the people who helped contribute ideas to this! My awesome friend GT and our friend Tex who literally listen to me ramble on an on about anything for days straight! GT is listed as co-author and I gifted this fic to Tex! You should check them both out!

It was a nice day. The sun was out, and for once the medley of sirens didn't fill the air. Local Crime Lord, Geoff Lazer Ramsey, had taken this opportunity to take a peaceful stroll through the maze of skyscrapers. It was nice to be out of the penthouse, away from the chaotic mess that had become his crew. Sure he loved them but you know what else he loved? Not having to bail/bust one or more of them out of prison after each mishap. And with his boys, there were a  _lot_ of mishaps. 

But today was an exception. He wandered the back allies of the city, greeting the employees on break or the bums who huddled in the shade of the tall structures to escape the Sun's sweltering heat. It made him smile to see some people in this sewer city were genuinely good at heart. They were hard to find these days. That made it all the better, in his opinion. If they couldn't be found, no one could kill them. Even in crossfire. 

Geoff had just turned down the alley across from the Maze Bank when he felt it. A bump. The faint rustling of fabric. A dull pinch.

_He was being fucking mugged._

_"_ Give me your cash. All of it." The voice sounded strange, like the mugger was putting on a false tone. Geoff quirked his lip. "What the hell are you waiting for?!" The attacker pressed the knife point against his back. It tore the fabric of his suit jacket slightly. "D'you wanna end up fuckin' dead?! A death wish?" Honestly he had been in this spot many times. The most recent had actually been Jeremy. He knew exactly how to deal with this. He threw his arm back and grabbed at the mugger's arm, yanking them forward. The attacker was small, wore a hoodie with the thick hood yanked up over their head. Without a moment of hesitation Geoff grabbed the scruff of their neck and hauled them up. They only weighed probably between 90-110 pounds. "Okay, you might want to reconsider." The mugger fidgeted and squirmed like Geoff's grasp burned them through their thick hoodie until they managed to wriggle out of his grasp entirely. 

The impact of their fall caused the hood to fall off. The face beneath was young, smudged with grime like they had been out here for a while now. The kid scrambled for their knife and tried to maneuver themself up and onto their feet. "Fuck you, old man!" Judging by the spite and general lack of fear being struck into the kid's heart, they probably didn't recognize him. "You have no clue who you're sticking up, do you kid? Wouldn't be talking so big if you did." He let his words sink in and reached for his back pocket. His pistol was still there. He was glad Jack convinced him to take it along on his walk. 

The realization seemed to dawn on the kid, lighting up their eyes with fear that they quickly masked with anger. "So what?! You crime bosses aren't shit without your gremlin gangs, y'know that?!" Geoff didn't hesitate to whip out his pistol and cock it, aiming for the wall just beyond the mugger's head. "Maybe you didn't quite process the situation. Do you know who I am?" The kid nearly folded in entirely, losing the proud and violent demeanor at the sight of a real gun that could real kill them. 

Not that Geoff was going to kill them. Hell, he was impressed that someone had not only gotten the jump on him but had gotten so far. "What's your name kid?"

"What?"

"Your name. What do people yell when they run away screaming from your obviously masterful robbing techniques?" A pause. "Ta...Tabitha? Or Tabi, I guess." 

"Drop the knife, Tabi." They obeyed. Metal clanging against concrete filled the air. Geoff's lips quirked into a wiry smile. "Now with your hands up, come over to me." They obeyed once more. It was strange to see their demeanor do a complete 180 flip, but it was nice to feel in control of something for once in his life. He lowered the gun, but kept it at his side just in case. "Good. Drop any other weapons you have now or Mommy and Daddy are gonna have to buy one small casket."

They pulled out their pockets, showing how barren they truly were. "Don't worry about Mommy and Daddy. They never worry about me..." The last part trailed off into a sad mumble. Geoff was starting to piece together the story. It was the typical "homeless youth with a bad home" spiel that most of the gang members around these parts had, but he knew that no matter how cliche each kid was hurt by it. Besides, he wasn't one to judge. 

"When was the last time you ate, Tabi?" Tabi shrugged and let out a heavy sigh. That settled it. "You're coming with me. No argueing and no funny business of any kind. I think you're going to do anything and I shoot." His words were losing their original malice and he tried to act as soft as possible without letting the kid think he was entirely weak and bluffing. It seemed to do the trick. Tabi listened to his instructions without a word of protest and followed him silently back through the Los Santos alleyways. Geoff considered leading them back to the penthouse, but decided against it. For now. He veered off towards a local burger joint and corralled the kid into a booth near the back. After they had placed their orders the questions began.

"Why? Out of all the shit you could have gotten into, why crime?" Tabi took a long sip of their milkshake. "I wanted to be like the crews I had seen running around recently. They all look like they're having fun, I guess? Like they own the city and they know it! I wanted to be on top of the world like that." They stir their straw absently. "But no one wanted me. They said I was too weak to bang with them and they threw me out on my ass." Another long sip. 

"I knew who you were, by the way. I thought if I could get the jump on Geoff Ramsey I could get into any crew I wanted. Obviously I'm not even good enough to do that." They fell silent until the kind waitress brought them their food. Geoff committed her face to memory, just in case something came along in the future. Once she was well out of ear shot and Tabi had gotten a few huge mouthfuls consumed he began questioning again. "Do you have a place to stay? No offense kid, but you smell like a garbage fire and you kind of look like one too."

Tabi paused midbite. "No." The answer was simple enough and Tabi deemed it good enough to leave there. There was an awkward silence. Geoff stared at them from across the table and Tabi began to shiver slightly under his gaze. "What?" They snarled. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Tabi's muscles tensed as they got ready to bolt from the booth. "Do you want a place to stay?" Tabi's knee banged against the table harshly with shock. They had been so ready to run that their first reflex was fleeing. But once the words had hit, the instinct left and they were left looking stupider than normal with a sore knee. 

"Excuse me?!"

"Come back to my place with me. I'll put you up for the night and we can talk about the next steps from there." A silence stretched between the two of them. "You're fucking with me, right? The-the rest of your crew is gonna pop out with cameras yelling 'gotcha', right?" The urge to flee was slowly coming back, this time to escape embarrassment. "No. I didn't even tell them I was going out today." 

The kid froze. Surely he was joking. Geoff Lazer Ramsey, the most notorious crime lord in all of Los Santos, couldn't possibly be concerned with the well being of a useless homeless kid who had resorted to mugging him just to survive, could he? 

Geoff, oddly enough, had a soft spot for kids. "So you in or what? Come on, I don't have all day." The waitress comes back and clears their table and leaves their check. Geoff covers it without a second thought. Tabi is shaking with nerves. Every single sign pointed to a trick or a trap. They weren't stupid. They knew how this city worked. But who would pick up a mugger, take them out for lunch, and then offer to let them stay at their home if they were just going to off them? Geoff still had his pistol to... 

"Okay."

* * *

 Tabi had spent the night.

And the next night.

And the night after that as well. Each morning Jack would make something for breakfast and they would spend the day house hunting. Tabi, they found out, was only 15. Geoff didn't really feel comfortable leaving a 15 year old who had at least interacted with a few major gangs in a house all alone in what was probably the worst part of the city to live in, but Tabi had insisted on the cheap apartment. "I'll pay you back one day, Ramsey. I don't wanna spend the rest of my young life in debt." 

Tabi, of course, had asked to join the crew. The Lads had taken a liking to the scrappy kid (who probably reminded them of themselves) and had all but begged for another addition to their little squad. But the Gents wouldn't hear it. "They're just too young," Jack had told them, "Maybe in a few years. But you know Geoff, he doesn't like to involve kids that young in our shit." In a week's time, Tabi was out of the penthouse and on their own. 

But it didn't stop there. 

A few weeks later came the biggest storm of the summer. Weathermen warned of flooding in some parts and lightning strikes in others but every station seemed to agree that a combination of the high wind speeds and heavy rainfall made the dangerous city deadly for a whole new reason. It was the dead of night when a knock echoed through the penthouse. No one ever knocked on their door. 

Ray positioned himself behind the couch with his rifle in hand, Michael and Jeremy flanking him with handguns. Ryan pressed himself up against the wall beside the door frame with a hammer in hand and Geoff, trusty pistol in his grip, slowly opened the door. "You have to help me!" Standing in the doorway is _another_ kid. 

He was drenched to the bone and covered in blood. Geoff can't tell if it belongs to him. "How did you find us?" He shifts his gun into safety but still kept it ready just in case. "Uh, a really nice kid on the other side of town. They sent me here. Please let me in, I don't know if they saw me come in here!" Geoff quickly glanced around at his crew. Jeremy and Gavin looked a bit weary, but they nodded. Ray and Michael gave a thumbs up. Ryan shrugged. Finally he turned to his partner-in-crime. 

Jack nodded. Geoff replaced his pistol in its holster and quickly pulled the kid inside. Ryan shut and bolted the door behind him. "Thank you. Thank you so much, thank you for-"

"Hold up. You said you knew Tabi?" The young boy went into the details of how their young friend on the other side of town had started a safe house in the home that the crew had purchased for them and how they had taken him and a few friends in. The friends were a bit more wild than he was, and had started a gang attack nearby. Two of them were dead. When he had tried to flee they had followed him all the way back into the city. The tall buildings and winding maze of roadways had made it easier to lose them, but he still feared that they might find him. Tabi had told him where to find the crew and he had hoped they would show the same hospitality. "Just for the night. I promise tomorrow morning I'll be back at Tabi's and packing my bags. I can't stand this city anymore."

They let the boy shower and loaned him some clothing for the night. Even though no one had any problem with giving up their bed for the night the boy insisted that the living room was just fine. "It might be terrible.... but the city is always the most beautiful at night. You guys have the perfect view of it." For a while, everything was calm. Until the thunder started. Ray had never been great with storms. Actually, they drove him up the wall with anxiety. Especially when the thunder was so loud and strong that it shook the building. He had been lying awake for nearly an hour when his fingers began to twitch. He had left his DS in the living room like an asshole. He moved as quietly as he could so he wouldn't wake up any of the crew while he climbed the stairs up to the living room. He was a master marksman, sure, but he wasn't the best at stealth. 

Just as his foot reached the top step a large crack of thunder rolled through the night and shook the penthouse. Ray squeezed his eyes shut and waited for it to end. To his surprise, the peal of thunder was followed by a soft whimper. "Kid?" A choked sob. Ray finished his trek up the stairs and to the couch. The kid was shaking, curled into a little ball. "You don't like storms either, huh?" Ray settled into the couch and slowly reached out to touch the kid's back. When he didn't flinch he left it there. He could feel the slight ridge of a binder underneath the shirt.

"I don't like the noise. It's too loud....it..." Ray clenched his jaw and nodded. "I get that. Me too." They didn't talk much, Ray mostly just gave soothing pats and back rubs whenever thunder boomed or lightning sparked through the night sky. Dawn came and the rest of the crew awoke to Ray and his new friend huddled together while Ray beat the latest boss in his newest game. Jeremy made breakfast and Michael brought the boy's clothes from the laundry room. Geoff took him back to Tabi's and then to the airport. 

"Here's my personal cell, and the penthouse home phone. We hardly ever use either, but if you need us call us." He also shelled out a couple thousand dollars to "get him started" as far away from here as possible. Once that issue was handled, there was the matter of two dead kids lying in an alley somewhere in Los Santos. Geoff didn't really want to pay much mind to them, but at the same time he was worried that he might be the only one in the city who would. 

So Geoff did something he honestly never thought he'd be doing. 

He called the police.

* * *

It was a few days before they saw real results. Tabloids posted pictures of their bodies, faces blurred beyond recognition, and each news outlet reported on the mystery man who had called it in and the dangers of "gang violence" in their city. 

Yeah, as if they could do anything about it. 

Two sets of parents planned two funerals. One was a private affair and it was the last the crew heard of the first alley kid. The second, however. A mother with your typical white mom haircut squeezed out tears in front of every camera you could point at her. She gave each and every network the story of her poor baby and how much she had loved her. How she had no idea why her little girl had ended up like this. "I, for one, blame the gangs. The Fake AH crew! If it weren't for them my baby could still be alive! 

Jeremy hurled the remote at the TV. Jack scooped him up to keep him from doing any further damage all while he yelled profanities. The other Lads were hurt, but they knew the feeling well. It wasn't a new one in the slightest. They were criminals, of course they'd get blamed if something went sour. They hadn't quite learned to block it out yet. Geoff told them it would get easier.

The months following brought even more kids. Some Geoff would bring back to the penthouse for a dry place to sleep, some would be sent by Tabi for a meal or two. They never stayed more than a week, and the crew hardly ever saw the same face twice. 

But Geoff wasn't the only crew member bringing home kids.

Nearly three months after the alley way incident Ray disappeared. It was typical of the young man to distance himself from the rest of the crew for a day or two. He would up and leave without a word to anyone, only sending Jack texts or selfies here and there to assure her that he wasn't dying in a ditch somewhere. When the texts didn't come in for nearly 3 days, Jack started to worry. When it bordered on a week, Ryan joined in. 

"I'm going out to find him." He stated, loading his third emergency pistol. "If I'm not back with something by sundown don't expect me back." 

"Holy shit you are so dramatic. He probably just dropped his phone off a building or something. You know how he likes tall things." Michael countered. He and Ray knew each other like the back of their hands. He had a gut feeling that he was okay. Ryan didn't like gut feelings. Just as he was about to grab the handle the door creaked open. They all held their breath. Then a friendly face poked itself inside. 

"Ray, buddy! Where the hell you been, you nut?" Gavin called excitedly. The brown man gave a tight smile. "Out."

"Obviously. Do you know how worried we were?" Ryan grabbed the Puerto Rican by his shirt and yanked him inside. "You left all of your weapons, you didn't answer your phone! Where the hell have you been?!" Ray smiled. In one hand he held a purple slushie from 7-11. "Yeah, my phone kind of bit it like half way through. But I found something even cooler!"

Ray pulled the door open to reveal a kid. The kid was wearing plastic purple shades and was slurping at another purple slushie. He gave a syrup stained smile. "Holy shit." Someone whispered. Everyone else shared the sentiment. It was as if during the week he had vanished Ray had somehow discovered a cloning device and had made a nearly perfect copy of himself. "Guys, meet Adrian. I found him in a hole near the subway."

"What were you doing in a hole near the subway?"

"I fell. Not important. Anyways I found Adrian and he shot me in the knee and I was like 'holy fucking shit' but after we talked for a while I thought about how cool it would be to have a mini me sidekick!"

"Absolutely not." Jack scolded. "One of you is horrible enough, no offense Adrian." The kid shrugged. He was used to it. "Aw, come on, Jack! Look at his chubby cheeks!" Michael stooped down to Adrian's height and pinched at his tan cheeks. "Say no to these cheeks. I dare you." Jack crossed her arms over her chest. Adrian tipped down his sunglasses and shot her a puppy look. And  _dear God_ were they effective. "I...Geoff!" She tore her gaze away and located their Boss. He was downing another glass of whiskey, despite the fact it was only 2 in the afternoon. "I mean.... he did shoot Ray." Geoff shrugged. Ray gave Adrian a quick high five.

"But." Oh and there it was. "We don't really accept kids. He can chill here but he's not a part of the gang." The Lads let out a collective noise of unhappiness. "What about Tabi?"

"Tabi isn't a part of the gang, they just like to be actively involved with us for some reason." While he did have a point, it was a stupid point and The Lads weren't gonna accept it. "This is discrimination against awesome kids with guns." Geoff facepalmed so hard even Jack flinched from the sound of skin on skin. " _Ray. Listen._ Your friend is an excellent shot, there's not doubting that. But he's still a kid. You know the kind of life we have, would you want your friend to be exposed to the kind of shit we see? To possibly be killed by whichever asshole is after us this week?" Ray opened his mouth to speak, but stopped. He gave Adrian a look, and Adrian nodded. Finally the mysterious kid was speaking for himself.

"Mr. Ramsey, I don't mean to sound like a prick, but even if you rejected me I wouldn't stop trying to get into a gang. I have already tried to join local gangs like the Vagos but they turned me down. I suppose after this I could go to Funhaus or The Creatures. I'm sure they would be interested to know of how I saw the inside of the Fake's apartment." Geoff glared the kid down in an almost stunned silence. The audacity...

"One mission. I will let you do one mission with us and that is it. Are we clear?" Ray and Adrian high fived. 

* * *

 

The mission went well. Great, actually. Much better than expected. With two master marksmen on the scene instead of one, enemies barely got past the road, let alone into the warehouse where the Gents were destroying munitions. Despite a few burns and bullet wounds, clean up was much easier than it had been on past raids. Adrian was pretty proud of himself. It didn't help that most of the crew was pretty proud of him too.

"I've never seen a guy go down so quickly!" Jeremy whooped. "I mean he was barely even out of the car and then **_BAM!_** You two are a great team!" The other Lads toasted their agreements and downed their bevs happily. Geoff didn't know what to say. He was stoked that the mission went well. Hell, any mission where he didn't have to pay a hospital bill was a success in his eyes. But now he felt conflicted. He had said that they were absolutely not going to let him into the crew....but c'mon everyone was thinking it. They had nailed it! The best mission they had ever done! They were all just waiting for Geoff to give the final word on it. 

He needed a drink.

The celebration continued on while he sat at the counter and poured himself another shot. Jack settled in next to him, her face worried. "Hey." She said softly. "Hey." He replied. He touched his arm gently. He sighed. Jack understood how hard this was for him. The night went on. Adrian and Ray took turns destroying the rest of the crew in first person shooters. They broke onto the Maze Bank roof and launched fireworks into the summer sky. They holed up in the support beams of the Maze Bank roof and hid from the police choppers. They laughed and had a great night until dawn reared its ugly head and most of the crew was incredibly hungover. Jeremy never thought he would sleep that long in his life. 

And Geoff still had a choice to make. He had spent his sober hours of the night quizzing both Ray and Adrian on their new friend. How old was he? 16, nearly 17. Where were his parents? Father was dead, mother was in rehab. Where did he learn to shoot? Self-taught. All the information added up. There was really nothing that he could turn this kid away for other than his age. And according to everyone, he was almost legally an adult anyways. Plus he was a lot like Ray, and you would have to kill him before he admitted it but Geoff did sort of like Ray. Good kid. 

So that settled it. He waited until everyone was up and functioning around maybe 4 in the afternoon. Jack tried to make something for them all to eat but Geoff had damn near glued her to the chair. "Please, you'll want to be sitting for this. Crew, I have an announcement. We are going to be experiencing some changes here-"

"If this is about the toothpaste bomb I swear Gavin made me do it." Michael put his hands up. Geoff paused.  _4 pm is too early to drink, 4 pm is too early to drink._ "No. And you'd better get that cleaned the fuck up or you're leaving in a body bag. Anyways, the changes have to do with a new member. Adrian," the brown boy's face lit up. "Welcome to the crew, you fuck."

* * *

 

Life was good. Heists went well, petty robberies even better. Everything seemed to go great for a few months. Tabi would check in every so often, and upgraded from sending only children to sending care packages and soon started sending money. "To pay for the house." They insisted. Of course they wouldn't say where the money came from. As much as he wanted to push the issue, Geoff let it be for the time being.

Life was good.

Until they got caught.

Specifically, Ray and Adrian got caught. Before they knew it the LSPD had the two of them in the station in separate cells awaiting questioning. Ray had a black eye and a busted lip. Adrian's sunglasses lay snapped in half on his lap. His nose was bleeding and he could have sworn they broke his hand. The crew had told him it could be like this. They told him it could be much worse. Michael and Gavin had given him tips on how to avoid questions without directly ignoring them. If he ignored them entirely they would hurt him more.

Even though he was scared, he tried to keep a cool facade. During the questioning, he refused to speak in English. If they had actually brought in a translator they would find that all of his answers were bullshit.

Where is the hideout located?

_In the underwater city of Atlantis._

Who hired you?

_That is a good question._

They released Ray after 2 hours of him responding only in memes. He hung around the area, waiting for Adrian. Night came, but Adrian didn't. Ray called Geoff, who called their lawyer, who called the station asking about any teenagers recently admitted. The LSPD told them yes. And they had contacted the boy's parents. Ray began to panic.

"Hispanic at the disco coming to you live from an alley near the police station!" He hollered into his phone. On the other end Michael, Gavin, and Jeremy were trying their best to keep him calm. Ryan had already gone down there to try and retrieve him. Geoff poured himself another drink. As it turned out, Adrian's mother wasn't in rehab. Well, not anymore. She had gotten released months before he joined the crew, and was the local anchorwoman on Channel 3. Everything else had been true, to some extent. His father wasn't dead, but he was in jail for involvement with the Vagos. Honestly it made everything a bit clearer now. 

Adrian's mother came and picked him up. Ryan had to damn near tackle Ray to the ground to keep him from gunning the car down. He also had to drag him home. They never saw or heard from Adrian after that. The rumor got out that his mother sent him back to Puerto Rico to live with his grandmother. Another rumor said he killed her and was on the run from law enforcement once again. But no matter how hard they looked they couldn't find him. Geoff hated himself for weeks. No matter how he spun it, this was his fault. If he had stuck to his guns and just let the kid be another passing face then they wouldn't have disappeared like this. That Ray wouldn't be so down over all this. 

They asked Tabi to stop sending kids for a few weeks. Just to let the wound heal. Tabi was more than happy to oblige. Instead, they sent over a package with the newest Pokemon game, a shit load of illegal fireworks, and four cases of Captain Jack. It was enough to get them through. 

* * *

It was nearly Christmas time the first time Jeremy brought home someone. Li'l "actual ray of sunshine" J came back to the apartment in the dead of winter with no jacket and covered in quick melting snow. His jacket was rolled around something and held tightly in his arms like if he let his grip soften even a tiny bit whatever he was carrying would disappear. "Lil J, where you been dude?" Gavin called from the couch. The others made jests and prods until they noticed the somber look on Jeremy's usually sunny face. "We have to help her." 

Jack and Ryan were on their feet in an instant. Jeremy set the bundle down and pulled the jacket aside. A child, probably only about 11 or 12, was unconscious and freezing cold. Her lips were an unnatural shade of blue and after close inspection Ryan confirmed that she had frostbite in her toes. "I found her under the pier, half in the water. I don't know if someone dumped her there, or if she's a runaway who ended up getting hurt or whatever." Jeremy's mouth and mind were running at a million miles per minute. He was panicking. He didn't want her to die. 

They did the best they could, Jack and Jeremy even risked taking her to the hospital under the guise of concerned joggers who had happened open her. They stayed in the waiting room for hours, stopped every doctor and nurse that they could to ask about her condition. The news was never good. The girl had hypothermia. Since she was so young and since she had likely been there for an extended amount of time, they didn't think she would make it. Jack held Jeremy as he shook. There was an upside to it. The girl had recently escaped from a child trafficking ring, and if she survived they might be able to coax some answers out her to help bring down the ring. "It's a wonderful thing you two did-" the nurse put a gentle hand on Jeremy's shoulder- "Without you she would have died all alone and scared. Now we can help all the other frightened kids out there who need us too." 

The rest of the crew showed up one at a time, as not to draw suspicion to themselves. Ryan came first with a little Christmas themed stuffed bear for her when and if she woke up. The other Lads brought books for both the child and Jack and Jeremy. "Who knows how long you'll be waiting here." Geoff came last. He brought smokes and a bag of Mickey D's. He had also brought something to drink but the receptionist had confiscated it. "Alcohol is 'contraband' on hospital grounds. Don't they know why most people are here? A straight shot of vodka could help a fuckton."

They waited for the girl's parents to come. They didn't. The news crews came and did an interview with Jack (who requested to remain anonymous) about what exactly had led to them finding the girl. The news crew finished up and packed up and left. Still no parents. Since they weren't family, they couldn't see her after all of the procedures were done. Jeremy reluctantly handed over the gifts they had accumulated for her. "Please, if she wakes up, let her know she's going to be safe now. No matter what tell her she's going to be fine." The nurse nodded solemnly. Jeremy was trying to convince himself of the same thing.

Three in the morning. A doctor approaches them. Jack is fast asleep, resting her head against Jeremy's strong shoulder. Jeremy hasn't been able to sleep at all. He and the doctor make eye contact. A somber look graces the doctors face. Jeremy's heart sinks. He already knows.

"The girl you two brought in...has passed. We assure you we did all we could to try and revive her fully but-" He pauses and drags a hand down his face. He's tired too. He just lost a life. "Since no family ever arrived we have no choice but to turn her over to the authorities. If they can't find anything regarding next of kin then she'll be buried or sold to a medical university for study."

By now Jack was groggily coming back to life. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and yawned as she said "Is there any chance we can claim her?" The question itself was not uncommon for unclaimed children who died there. The doctor had probably heard it countless times. The answer was always no. But he looked at this couple. A couple who had cared so much that they had waited here since the night before waiting to hear if a stranger would live. The doctor leaned in close. "I'm not allowed to do this, but I suppose I could.... 'lose' a few crucial documents and bend some rules. For you." 

* * *

Funerals were the worst. Geoff had been to many in his time. They invited a few of their contacts. Mica Burton and Matt Bragg. A few more from around the city. They huddled together, shivering in the cold mountain air. Lil J had insisted on doing this all by himself. He dug the grave, prepared the body, and gave all of the proper funeral garb that you might have heard in a church. Tears were shed. After they had lowered and buried the little body in the frozen Earth they split off into their individual groups. The Gents all agreed that they needed a shot or 10. Ray wanted to be alone. Mica and Matt were going to tag along with Michael and Gavin on a spree. "Not sure what kind of spree yet, just a spree." 

Before they left, Mica stopped Jeremy. She held him in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry Lil J. I can't begin to imagine how hard this is for you." He hugged her back. "Thank you, Mic, thank you for being here. For her..." He felt Mica's tears fall onto his skin. "We'll find em. We'll find that ring and we will destroy them." She promised through her sorrow. Jeremy believed every word. 

It took months but they had finally cracked it. The hard part was getting the police to crack it down as well. But when they did Lil J felt his heart swell with the happiness that dozens of kids were going to go home. They would finally be safe. 

* * *

This was just a quick bank robbery. Nothing too big, at least not compared to the shit they pulled on the daily. But there had been a slip up and the police arrived sooner than they could evacuate. Even with Mica flying a getaway get copter Geoff didn't think they could get all of them out in time. He would send The Lads and Jack onto the copter while he and ran booked it on foot. It was risky as hell but it was worth a shot. 

He had barely gotten Ryan out of the back exit when someone grabbed him by the back of his suit. "Hey watch it! This is custom Armani you fuck!" His slew of threats and insults and general Ramsey raff did nothing to deter the attacker.

"Well, first of all Mr. Ramsey, you might want to reconsider." The attacker dropped him flat on his ass. He shuffled to his feet and looked whoever it was dead in the eyes, gun cocked and ready. A familiar face smirked back at him. "Tabi?!" Though they looked much older and much more put together in the bank's security guard uniform, it was definitely the little punk from all those months ago. "Geoff, let's go!" Ryan called. Geoff could tell he was getting anxious, waiting for a signal to run or a gunshot. 

He could wait a bit longer. "So this is where you've been getting all that money, huh?" Tabi nodded. "They pay well and usually crime lords and their lackeys don't try to rob us." Tabi paused to ponder. "I'm sure the guard who turned in Ramsey would get one hell of a raise..." They took out their gun. "Too bad he's a faster draw." In an instant Tabi aimed the gun at their foot and fired. "OFFICER DOWN!" They yelled. They looked up and winked at Geoff. "Consider us even, Ramsey." 

"Until next time, you little punk. 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> lol maybe I'll add another chapter idk i hate myself


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